Pune Municipal Corporation to explore Gadkari’s suggestion on waterways
Gadkari was in the city for the foundation stone laying ceremony of the ₹560 crore Integrated Development of Chandani chowk project.
A day after Union road transport and shipping minister, Nitin Gadkari, suggested the idea of starting waterways in Pune city, the municipal corporation has decided to explore this new concept.
According to PMC commissioner, Kunal Kumar, the civic body has decided to explore the proposal to see if there is any alternative mode of transport that is feasible in the city.
“The Union minister has suggested a good concept of waterways in Mula and Mutha river. There are some issues in it but PMC will try to explore this concept. As suggested by the minister, PMC will request guardian minister Girish Bapat to call the meeting with various agencies like irrigation and Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA). The meeting will discuss the possibilities of this concept,” municipal commissioner Kunal Kumar told Hindustan Times.
Gadkari was in the city for the foundation stone laying ceremony of the ₹560 crore Integrated Development of Chandani chowk project. While addressing the function, Gadkari said that Pune is facing lot of traffic problems. There is very little space for road expansion. Considering this, there is a need to have river transport in the city and it is possible, he added.
Gadkari also said that if PMC allows, the centre will execute this project under national waterways project. He even suggested PMC to submit the proposal for it.
Kumar said that the minister’s idea is good but PMC does not have any project related to it. But it will exploit this concept. This project would involve various agencies and mainly irrigation department. If needed PMC will prepare the plan for it and submit it to the central government, added the civic body commissioner.
Meanwhile, when Nationalist Congress party came to power in the PMC, it also came up with the same idea and announced to start water transport in Mula and Mutha rivers. The then mayor, Rajlaxmi Bhosale, also took interest in it. A private consultant, with the help of Maratha Chamber of Commerce, prepared the presentation for water transport in Pune.
Assistant city engineer, Srinivas Bonala, said that the water transport proposal was discussed few years back but it remained only at the conceptual level. PMC did not make any project report for it.